There will be various lectures, followed by questions and answers, on subjects directly related to the areas covered by the Congress. Lectures will be given by four international experts who are renowned for their academic work in the field.

The lecturers invited are:

- Prof. Graham Gibbs (Oxford University, U. K.)
International perspectivess on the development of teaching in research universities
Wednesday, 2nd of July (11:30h - 12:30h)

Professor Graham Gibbs was director of the Oxford Learning Institute, University of Oxford, until 2007, and is currently a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University. He was also director of the Centre for Higher Education Practice at the Open University. He founded the International Improving Student Learning Symposium, the International Consortium for Educational Development in Higher Education and the International Network for the Development of Teaching in Research-Intensive Universities. He has been honoured by several universities and organisations for almost 30 years of efforts to improve university teaching. He is currently concerned with improving student learning through changes to the form of assessment.

- Dr. Lynn McAlpine (McGill University, Canada)
Team work among university lecturers
Thursday, 3rd of July (13:00h - 14:00h)

Lynn McAlpine is a Professor of Education and former director and member of the Centre for University Teaching and Learning at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She is presently on secondment to the University of Oxford as Director of the CELT Preparing for Academic Practice, and is a senior research fellow in the Department of Educational Studies. Faculty development and research activities focus largely on the thinking underlying teaching action – why we do what we do. This work includes understanding how students’ knowledge and learning can influence teaching decisions, eg, curriculum change.

She is currently carrying out funded research with colleagues in Canada and the UK documenting the experiences of doctoral students during their research education. Of particular interest are their changing perceptions of academic identity and academic practice. She has received distinguished research awards from both the American Educational Research Association and the Canadian Society for Studies in Higher Education.

- Dr. Günter L. Huber (Tubingen University, Germany)
New university teaching models centered in students
Thursday, 3rd of July (13:00h - 14:00h)

Dr. Günter L Huber specialises in educational psychology. His work has focused on social processes in education, interindividual variation, teaching and learning and quality research methodology. He was Professor of Education at the University of Tübingen from 1980 to 2005.

Dr Huber is a member of several scientific associations: "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie", "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaft", "European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI)" and "American Educational Research Association (AERA)".He has also been assistant editor of Teaching and Teacher Education (1998-2001) and a member of the Review Committee for Education Studies at the Universities of Bavaria (Germany).

- Dr. Bob Hunter (University of Birmingham, U.K.)
Using advanced digital platforms and interactive material in university teaching. Challenges and Problems
Thursday, 3rd of July (13:00h - 14:00h)

Bob Hunter is the founding director of the Learning Development Unit at the University of Birmingham. His areas of responsibilities include the development and embedding of innovative ways of learning and teaching that enhance the student learning experience using learning technologies, and the development and refurbishment of the University's Learning and Teaching Spaces, with the focus on learning spaces that support flexible ways of learning. The University of Birmingham is one of the largest users of a virtual learning environment in the UK, and Bob is currently working on restructuring the e-learning team so it can provide more pedagogical support for the five new Colleges that have been established as part of the major reorganisation of the University of Birmingham. Bob has over 20 years’ experience in higher education. During this time he has led a number of e-learning innovation projects, such as the eSpaces project for JISC, and carried out a number of consultancies on the development and implementation of e-learning for higher education institutions. While at the University of Lincoln he led the development of one of the first virtual learning environments, which was used with over 2,000 students in September 1996.

- Claudi Alsina (Technical University of Catalonia, Spain)
Innovation in University Teaching: A Way to Live the Profession
Wednesday, 2nd of July (20:00h - 21:00h)

Professor Claudi Alsina is a professor at the Technical University of Catalonia. He is a regular speaker at conferences and has held various administrative positions. He is currently a member of the board of the Quality Assurance Agency for the University System in Catalonia, Inter-University Council of Catalonia (CIC), and has held two important positions at the Open University of Catalonia: Vice-President of the Management Committee (1994-1996) and Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs and Teaching Staff (1994-1996). He has also held the position of Director-General of Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya.